5.9.8 "Leanness of Soul"

"Leanness of Soul"

1 Samuel 5:1-7:17
John 6:1-21
Psalm 106:13-31
Proverbs 14:32-33

Today's reading from Psalms is sad. The chapter starts out talking about the greatness of God, and how awesome it was that he delivered them from the bondage of Egypt. But listen to this:

"Yet how quickly they forgot again! They wouldn't wait for him to act, but demanded better food, testing God's patience to the breaking point. So he gave them their demands, but sent them leanness in their souls." (Ps106:13-14)

The scriptures that follow lay out the continuous cycle of the rebellion and waywardness of God's people.

It's verse 14 that sticks in my mind. "So he gave them their demands, but sent them leanness in their souls." I was thinking about how true that is. When we get what we want, there is something lacking inside of us.

Think of it like a spoiled child. If you've ever experienced a child who gets whatever they ask for, you notice something. Yes, they have a lot of stuff, but they're not happy. There's something lacking inside. Many times it's a matter of ungratefulness, or rudeness, but there's almost a "leanness of soul" that is visible.

How would you describe "leanness of soul"? It would be a life that's never satisfied. It would be a life that's self-centered and constantly looking for gratification. It would be a life that compromises moral standards for the sake of self. All of this would still result in an incredible emptiness that is beyond description. There would be an attempt to fill the void with more things, more food, medication, alcohol, noise, anything to hide the need.

That sounds a lot like the state of the world around us. As we meet people everyday we are looking into the eyes of people who are getting "what they want", and living life "my way", but they are experiencing leanness of soul.

I'm not just talking about people who don't know Christ. I think often the people of God do things their own way and find themselves outside the umbrella of God's pleasure, and it's a bad place to be.

Whenever we elevate our opinions or desires above the will of God, we are in danger of this. We risk the joy of hearing his voice. We risk the abundant life he has for us. In Deuteronomy it speaks of the danger of forgetting God when we are "fat" with his blessings. We must never take for granted the greatness of our God the way the Israelites did. We must humbly accept his will for our lives.

We must find our satisfaction in him. We must live in the blessing of his timing. We must rejoice in his provision, and allow his Spirit to fill our souls with abundant life.



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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